Nothing is normal

Vivian's venture into the kitchen to cook surprised Lin Feng. After all, she was a genuine vampire. In movies and TV shows, vampires lived in grand style: red cloaks, black formalwear, castles by the sea, rows of servants, vaults full of jewels. They slept from dawn till dusk, waking at 8:30 in the evening for a bottle of blood from '82, then invited friends for a dance party until midnight (which they called a 'ball'), finally sipping red wine on the balcony, flirting with the moon until dawn before sleeping again. This was the life of a proper vampire—low-key luxury with depth. However, Vivian, this impoverished vampire, didn't fit that description. Not only did she not need blood to sustain herself, but she could also stomach Lin Feng's crude noodles. She even cooked using a human gas stove...

Thinking about this was enough to surprise anyone. However, it wasn't until Vivian brought the food to the table that Lin Feng realized his surprise had come too early.

Vivian's culinary skills were actually quite good, but her choice of dishes was puzzling: garlic eggplant, garlic green beans, garlic vermicelli—all perfectly cooked. The whole living room was filled with a strong garlic aroma. Lin Feng felt like he was swimming in a sea of garlic. To top it off, the so-called vampire casually tossed a clove of garlic into her mouth... This eating habit was intolerable even for ordinary people!

Lin Feng and Muya stared in astonishment, then looked at Vivian in unison and exclaimed, "Are you really a vampire?!"

Vivian immediately adjusted her expression, sitting upright. "Please refer to me as a member of the bloodline. This is a serious matter..."

"Now is not the time to be so formal!" Lin Feng interrupted, trying to comprehend what else about his worldview needed reconstruction. "Are... are blood... members of the bloodline not afraid of garlic? You're practically eating it like a meal!"

Vivian looked at the dishes on the table and suddenly realized, "Oh, you mean this... Indeed, ordinary members of the bloodline dislike it. Lesser vampires even fall ill from the smell of garlic. But I don't know why... Anyway, I'm not afraid. When life is at its most difficult, even basic meals can be a problem. There's no point worrying about whether they taste good."

Lin Feng was dumbfounded, then rubbed his nose. "I've been wanting to ask, how did a grand member of the blood... the bloodline like yourself become so poor?"

"How would I know? Since I can remember, my luck has never been good. When there was no currency, I lost things. When we used shells as currency, I lost shells. When metallic currency came into use, I lost coins. Now that we have paper money, finding a job is difficult. I once decided to be a villain and rob a girl, but seeing her pitiful state, I even ended up giving her six pounds..."

Vivian spread her hands, her face full of the resigned look of someone who had been unlucky for centuries. But as she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and proudly began rummaging through her belongings. After a moment, she pulled out a pair of shiny silver bracelets. "Actually, I do have some good items. Look at these. Even when I was at my poorest, I couldn't bear to sell them. I found these hundreds of years ago in a small village in Egypt. They're pure silver bracelets, said to ward off evil..."

Lin Feng stared in disbelief.

Vivian then pulled out a small chain from her collar, on which hung a cross. "I got this near the Vatican. For a while, I lived in Europe, my wallet was stolen, I lost my job, and the place I stayed caught fire. With nowhere else to go, I had to work in the church for food. Because I was hardworking, the priest gave me this cross, supposedly blessed by the Pope, to ward off evil..."

"There's also this, a piece of wood I got when I visited Wutai Mountain a few years ago. A Taoist priest gave it to me. It can ward off evil!"

"And this amulet, obtained hundreds of years ago from a group of Vikings, I helped them a little. This amulet is very effective. Wearing it can ward off evil!"

"To sum it up, I've noticed a pattern. Whenever I have money, I lose it. But ever since humans had currency, I haven't lost anything I carry with me... This must be the fault of the greater universe!"

Lin Feng silently set down his bowl, pinched his thigh hard to make sure he wasn't dreaming, then stared at Vivian. "Let me repeat, are you really a vampire?"

"I've said it many times, not a vampire, you should call me a mem... oh forget it, humans often get confused about this." Vivian waved her hand generously. "Landlord, why are you fixated on this?"

Lin Feng looked at the 'vampire' in front of him, adorned with various magical items (she had been wearing a thin black dress, where was she hiding all this?) and felt like he was about to have a heart attack. "You ward off evil too?! You're the embodiment of 'evil' yourself! How many vampires could all these items you're wearing kill?"

"I don't know what's going on." Vivian justified herself, "I've never been afraid of these things since I was born! And wearing these might dispel my bad luck— even if it doesn't, it boosts my confidence."

Muya, finishing her food like a starving animal, raised her head and muttered, "As a vampire, wearing crosses and amulets to boost your confidence is really embarrassing."

This idiot wasn't surprised at all! Her perspective was indeed unique...

In any case, dinner was finished in this eerie atmosphere. Lin Feng had a new understanding of one of his abnormal tenants: Vivian. She was not only a poor vampire but also one who wasn't afraid of garlic, silverware, crosses, or any kind of magical protection. This miraculous creature even wore at least six pounds of talismans in an attempt to reverse her bad luck—imagine that! Six pounds! Just how many trinkets did she have on her...

After dinner, everyone had their own things to do. This temporarily assembled "bizarre group" ushered in their first truly peaceful day together (previously they either played around or Lin Feng wasn't home). A human landlord (possibly a Time-Space Management Bureau employee), a carefree werewolf, a vampire on the brink of poverty, and let's not forget a black-and-white cat named "Roll." Just thinking about it made Lin Feng feel like it was a miracle that these occupants could get along. 

Now, Muya was squatting in the living room watching TV. Yes, squatting in the living room watching TV, sitting like a little dog, with "Roll" squatting next to her, like sisters. It seemed that the idiot werewolf was finally getting used to the cat, although she was still a bit nervous and would quickly change the channel whenever "Roll" made a noise. But at least she didn't hide behind the sofa like yesterday.

Vivian, on the other hand, was energetically going out for

 a walk. As a nocturnal creature, Vivian became active after the sun went down. She decided to fly to the city center to look for a job... Lin Feng could somewhat understand why this vampire was so poor and couldn't find a job. Wouldn't she die if she adjusted her biological clock a bit? Going out to find a job in the middle of the night, is she crazy?

As Vivian transformed into a giant bat and blended into the night, Lin Feng also carried a recliner to the open space outside. There were few people around, creating an exceptionally quiet environment. In front of the small apartment building was a large open space that had yet to be occupied, so it was now implicitly considered Lin Feng's "territory." After dinner, Lin Feng decided to come here for some cool breeze, contemplating life under the quiet night sky. This environment was much healthier than the air conditioning inside.

Of course, the main reason was that he didn't want to be alone with Muya for too long, afraid of losing his intelligence... That idiot werewolf was watching a dog food advertisement, can you believe it? Lin Feng felt like even if he hid in his bedroom behind a wall, a third of his intelligence would be sucked away!

Lin Feng, accustomed to cooling off in his usual spot, unfolded his recliner and lay down, listening to the distant sounds of people and insects mingling in the night, gradually feeling a bit sleepy.

In a half-dream state, he seemed to sense an unusually gentle breeze brushing across his cheeks. It was fresh and cool, completely devoid of the coarse feeling brought by human activities in modern cities. This breeze woke Lin Feng up instantly, and he sat up abruptly—only for the recliner to fold up and trap him.

But he had already seen the strange situation around him.